Using an Accent Color in a Study/Office

Using an Accent Color in a Study/Office

This room had several uses. Mostly it was a study and office. It was a long narrow room filled with books and art. There were so many interesting things to look at in this room that it was hard to know where to begin. It needed a focal point, a place for your eyes to stop. The use of a strong color would help create that focal point.

But which wall to accent? The architecture of the room had some interesting features. A sloping ceiling line started from the entrance doorway and reached high up at the far end of the room. At that end were large windows that wrapped around the corners of the room. The desk was situated at that end surrounded by book cases. There was not enough visible wall space at that side of the room to use as an accent.

The next possibility was the wall opposite the entrance. That is usually a good wall to accent because you see it as you enter. But that wall was also broken up with a window and book cases. That left the wall of the doorway entrance. It was a wall hung with art and a couch in front. That would work.

So now we knew which wall to accent but what color to use? The couch was grey, the desk and most of the furniture black or dark grey. The art on that wall was mostly black and white. We felt that using a deep red would be a great contrast to the black and white art and give your eye a place to rest.

We used Benjamin Moore 2005-20 Hot Apple Spice for the accent color. For the rest of the room we wanted a soft beige that would be a great background for the other art. We chose Benjamin Moore OC 8 Elephant Tusk.